We will be taking the first look at Huawei IDEOS X3 android smartphone, the thinnest device in the 3.2-inch screen range on the market running on Android Gingerbread.

Huawei IDEOS X3 will be retailing at S$299.00 and available from 15 June 2011 onwards.

The Tech65 crew went for Huawei smart device launch where they announce their new Huawei smartphone, Huawei Boulder Smartphone, with touchscreen and QWERTY keypad.

It’s recommended retail price is S$299.00 and will be available in end June 2011.

We take a first look at features of the new update for Symbian, known as Symbian Anna, which will be available on the Nokia E6 and X7 phones on launch, and will be made available as an update to all Symbian^3 devices, notably the Nokia N8, C7, C601, and E7 in Q3 2011.

-DK, Daniel, Hisham & Nicole

Refresh!
[01:07] Wireless@SG Extends to March 2013
[02:30] Starhub launched an application development campaign for Android
[04:14] Twitpocalypse hits the Twitterverse
[05:45] iPhone 3.0 OS Upgrade is Out with some Pros & Cons
[09:12] Singtel Launches Singtel AMped – Singtel Unlimited Music Downloads -
[11:30] The flood of phones that was released in Singapore
[11:50] Nokia Release
[15:55] Samsung Release – Samsung Jet
[21:24] Sony Release – Satio, Aino & Yari

MonthOfSmartPhones Discussion
[25:45] Week 3 – Choosing the right Windows Mobile Phone

[42:15] Byte of the Week Yahoo Mobile

On our tenth week at Gear65, we take a look at LG’s premium fashion phone. Does high cost = great technology and features? With Nokia’s Vertu and Motorola’s Aura, that certainly wasn’t the case, though LG sure is trying their best with this phone.

Update (27 Feb 2009): Apparently the phone DOES have a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s found in the wired remote. So if you have your own headphones you can connect to them using the wired remote. Picture after the break.

The following are some photos and videos we took at the event.

Samsung Ultra Touch

A pretty slick phone with the usual powerful camera found on the Pixon. Running on the TouchWiz UI (I prefer to think it’s an OS) found on the Pixon, it is very similar with it in terms of specs, including the lack of WiFi, which continues to boggle the mind. There’s an interesting face recognition feature being shown off here similar to that found on iPhoto 09 that allows you to tag faces in a photo, and lets you call them by touching their faces on the screen. Of course the presenter points out that if you have too many faces in a photo, the boxes are gonna be too small to touch.

Samsung Beat DJ

Samsung has decided to replace the “Live Loud” brand of it’s music phones with a new “Beat” brand. The Beat DJ is their flagship Beat phone, also running on TouchWiz UI, ALSO lacking WiFi. The “DJ” feature on this phone seems to be just a novelty, but I’d like to point out that the touch area extends to the wheel at the bottom. Oh, and as much as we at Tech65 hate people who blast their music in the public, it appears that it is a trend nowadays, so we can’t blame Samsung for responding to this “beng” market by putting B&O speakers into their Beat phones. Urghh…

Now you can get out of awkward situations with the Samsung Ultra B

I thought this was the funniest thing I’ve seen built into a phone. This phone has a “fake call” feature that when activated by a shortcut, initiates a fake call. Wait, hold on, I got a call… “Hello? What? Little Johnny fell into the well?? I’ll be right over!! Sorry, gotta dash… Emergency…” According to the rep, you can even record a conversation so that it sounds like you actually have a real call! Oh, and when there’s a real call, the phone won’t ruin your cover by ringing. I know there are iPhone apps out there that do that, but this is the first time I’ve seen something like this built right into a phone!

This was a photo collage I made with all the other pictures that I took of the Aura. Thanks Johahn from Fleishman-Hillard!

At first glance, it is not your usual rectangular-ish kinda phone. Instead, I was presented with this rounded edges, and a round screen! w00t! Not the first for Motorola, if you still remember this phone which was launched a long long time ago.

The Motorola Aura reminded me of the V70.

What I see impressed me. The colours on the screen are so rich and vibrant, that I simply can’t take my eyes of the screen!

The screen contains a richness of 16 million colors, and it makes everything look crisp and sharp. And not to mention that it features a scratch resistant glass, virtually unscratchable, unless you use a diamond of course. 62 carats of sapphire crystal lens went into the circular display.

It was put to a brutal test, using a fork to scratch it (as seen in Gear65 Episode 1), scratched with a key, and even on the surface of the road (*gasp*). Impressive isn’t it? The screen does not even show up any scratches.

The metallic body of the phone adds the glam and bling to the overall design of the phone. The shell was etched with designs that gives it a elegant looking phone.

Here’s how the back of the phone looked liked…

This is taken with the cover detached. Notice the mechanical parts? These are the parts which gives the motion of flicking the cover of the phone…

The menu interface is quite unique, with the icons placed in a circular manner. The selected icon is magnified in the centre of the screen, which makes it easy to tell what is selected.

Nothing to shout about features wise apart from the standard call/sms/gprs etc… though I must say that the battery life of the AURA lasts me less than a day. The call quality is quite clear and the camera quality is not that bad at all! It can act as a paperweight, given that it feels rather solid with stainless steel casing.

Overall, I felt that the phone adds to the glam and bling factor, looking really good on its own. Its pricing is really dear, given the materials, workmanship factored into manufacturing the phone. Its a mechanical wonder, owing to the mechanical parts controlling the opening and closing of the phone. Its a feast of the for the senses.

Check out the short flash clip right here

AURA – The Return of Artistry

It feels good to have a go at using such an expensive phone. I like!

Nicole

Samsung Innov8
Network: 3.5G (GSM, HSPDA 7.2Mbps)
OS: Symbian 9.2, Series 60 V3.2
Connectivity: Wifi +Bluetooth 2.0 + GPS
Camera: 8 Megapixel CMOS with AF and Dual Power LED

First, lets start of with the design and aesthetics of the Innov8.

From Innov8 Features

See the earphone cable sticking out next to the Mini-USB port? I feel that putting the ear phone jack there makes the phone a little awkward to put it into the pocket, because it will be lying horizontally (unless you use the phone pouch), and making the pocket look very bulgy. On the extreme left side of the phone is the volume control buttons, which also acts as zoom button in the camera mode.

The earphone jack is of the standard 3.5mm type, so you can plug in your own ear phones as well.

From Innov8 Features

This is how the earphones look like. I tried it, and it fits my ear snugly, though initially, I had to adjust it a fair bit, thus causing a little discomfort. But I soon got used to it. The audio and visual playback is awesome.

Prior to accessing the main menu… there is a mini menu interface…

From Innov8 Features

This contains shortcuts to predefined functions, or customized to your liking (will come to that soon).
A quick glance through the various buttons will show if the FM Radio is running (shows the radio station), or if you are spinning MP3 tunes. “Shortcuts” options can be customized to one’s preferences.

Here’s a snapshot of how the main menu interface looks like

From Innov8 Features

See the media icon? with a little circle like thing at the top right hand corner? This indicates that an application in that category is running in the background. Nifty eh? The visual indicator helps to point out what the phone is doing.

They too, have thrown in Google applications such as Mail Reader and Google Maps.

From Innov8 Features

What you see here is the function of recording audio clips, and each clip can contain one hour worth of audio. The quality and volume of the clip can be set prior to recording. Extension of the clip is of MP4. Playback of recorded audio is decent, it can be even better, but I think the environment in which the audio was recorded plays a part too.

Ever come across a song you like that is playing on the Radio and want to record it? Now you can, because the Innov8 can. “Options” and then “Record”. These clips are then stored in the file manager.

Like some other phones, it also allow auto repositioning of the screen elements, when the phone is shifted from vertical to horizontal view.

From Innov8 Features

From Innov8 Features

Notice the keypad? It looks flat, but is actually very comfortable to key in messages or numbers, and suitable for people with larger fingertips as well. I found no difficulty using it with one hand. The sliding mechanism of the phone is also very smooth, and makes it easy to use even with just one hand. The Innov8 feels very “solid” in one hand itself, giving me the sheer confidence of shooting pictures too.

The photo quality is quite clear, as shown in then previous Innov8 post, so I shall not dwell too much on it).

The Symbian OS makes phone navigation a breeze, though non symbian users might find it a little harder to get used to initially. Apart from that, the Innov8 allows a great deal of customization of the shortcut keys (spoil for choice). It can be a boon or bane, depending on how you perceive it to be. Boon – It allows you to define what are the most accessed and frequently used functions. Bane – Hard time remembering which keys accesses which functions when activated. There are at least 6 to 8 keys that can be customized.

Last but not least, the English to Chinese and vice-versa dictionary. Suddenly I don’t feel so language handicapped anymore. The sms input supports Chinese and Malay characters input.

From Innov8 Features

From Innov8 Features

That’s all I have. These are the features that I will use most often if I do get an Innov8, and I believe that these are some features that people like you and I would want to find out before buying the phone. I hope you will enjoy the review that I have written, feel free to give me suggestions or tips I can improve on. Thanks!

This review was originally from Nicole.sg

It's the first episode of our brand new show: Gear65! Every week, the crew comes together and shows off/talks about/rants about new gadgets in a completely unscripted, 65bits-style.

In this first episode, Daniel, Nicole and DK take a look at the so-expensive-if-you-had-to-ask-how-much-it-costs-you-probably-don't-wanna-know Motorola Aura, as well as Samsung's new Pixon, their latest addition to the 8-megapixel camera phone collection.